PlaqueTec, a company identifying endotype-specific biomarkers to advance precision medicine for coronary artery disease (CAD), based at the Babraham Research Campus, and the Flow Cytometry Facility at the Babraham Institute have announced a collaboration to develop a cell phenotyping assay for detecting different cell populations in human blood. Once validated, the assay is intended to become available as a service through the Institute’s Flow Cytometry Facility. The partners plan to use it to investigate cell types in coronary artery samples collected from patients participating in PlaqueTec’s ongoing BIOPATTERN trial.

The project received UKRI-BBSRC Campus Collaboration Funding for 2022/2023, awarded by the Babraham Research Campus. The funding supports the development of an assay for spectral cytometers, which can identify different cell populations in blood samples. The cells can also be sorted for further analysis and characterisation.

The partners intend to apply the assay to coronary artery samples collected during the BIOPATTERN trial using PlaqueTec’s Liquid Biopsy System™. This exploratory work aims to identify cell types accumulating at or near sites of coronary disease. The resulting data will be combined with other multi-omics and imaging results from the trial to improve understanding of the biological processes involved in CAD.

The research may help identify differences between individual patients and support the development of more tailored approaches to CAD treatment. However, the planned analysis is exploratory, and its potential clinical value will depend on the findings and subsequent validation.

Dr Diane Proudfoot, Chief Scientific Officer at PlaqueTec, said the collaboration was intended to provide further insight into the cell types associated with coronary disease sites and ultimately support more individualised treatment approaches.

Dr Rachael Walker, Head of the Flow Cytometry Facility at the Babraham Institute, highlighted the potential for the assay to support the BIOPATTERN trial and become an additional service offered by the facility. The validation work had also contributed to staff development and teaching activities.

Derek Jones, Chief Executive of Babraham Research Campus, welcomed the project as an example of collaboration between companies and researchers on the campus, supported by the Campus Collaboration Fund.

The collaboration brings together PlaqueTec’s coronary sampling technology and the Babraham Institute’s flow cytometry expertise. Its findings are intended to contribute to a more detailed understanding of CAD biology and the development of precision-medicine approaches.